Life's Greatest Value
by Noel Ardnek
Summary: Of all the places they could end up in, Billie and Eliot would've never thought that Narnia was an option. Regardless they end up in a war for independence between creatures that shouldn't exist and a tyrant bent on their destruction. Edmund/OC & Lucy/OC
1. One Argument Leads to a Meeting

**Disclaimer: I own only Billie and Eliot.**

**Enjoy! : ) **

**One Argument Leads to a Meeting **

"What did you just call me?" A dark young man snarled at three upperclassmen from Hendon House. The young man's name was Eliot Morgan, and his dark eyes stared at the three white boys viciously.

"You were right, Joe. The Wogs really are stupid." The head boy, the leader of this vicious pack, chuckled and his friends laughed along with him. For any who might not know, a Wog is a very foul name for anyone with dark skin, like young Eliot. Now anyone with a sore eye would wonder 'Why are these fine, upstanding young men even bother looking at a lowly, scruffy looking black boy?' Anyone with enough common sense would wonder 'Why are these jackasses bothering this poor guy?'

Truth be told Eliot didn't truly deserve it. He and his friend Billie, who was standing nervously to the side, looking around and praying that none of the standby soldiers would come anytime soon. Billie knew well enough that if Eliot's skin didn't incur some bias, then they're appearances would. The three boys were wearing their Hendon House school uniforms, though they appeared to be very sloppy, as if they wanted the world to know that they didn't care about their appearance. However this was set in a negative light once one knew that they did it to flaunt their parent's wealth to the other kids, as if silently saying 'Yeah, I look like a slob but I'm richer than you.' Eliot and Billie were dressed more humbly, though not by choice. You see, Eliot and Billie lived with their mothers, and because of the war their single-parent income had hit hard. They had to be pulled out of school, which caused Billie to cry for an entire night, and their clothes were downgraded. At that moment, Eliot was wearing a dirty blue cap from his old school uniform, a pair of hand-me-down trousers from his mother's nephew, and a new jacket he 'borrowed' from a store. Billie also wore a hat, with a slightly dirty button up jacket that was a size bigger than she was and a pair of trousers that Eliot had grown out of. The front of hat shadowed Billie's face a bit, giving the illusion that she was tougher than she looked.

"You shut your mouth, you stupid-" Eliot probably would've let out a long string of profanities that would've made a Nazi blush had it not been for Billie's interference.

Placing a hand on the angered Eliot's arm, Billie said "Come on, Eliot. Just ignore them." Billie tried to maneuver them away to avoid a confrontation but the head of the pack stepped in front of them.

"And now his little elf friend is trying to run. What's wrong, elf? Not man enough to face me?" The pack leader taunted but Billie only smiled. _If only you knew._ Billie couldn't be a man because she was a girl. Billie wasn't ashamed of being a girl or confused about it, she only pretended to be one because she found it easier to just be a boy sometimes.

Billie's smile must've set something off because the leader then grabbed Billie by the shirt. "What's so funny, elf? We all like a laugh, so why don't you _share_."

"Let go of-" Eliot started towards the leader but his followers grabbed his arms and as strong as he was, two against one was still a strong rule.

"You see, I don't want to let _him_ go. You want to know why?" The leader snarled getting in close to Billie's face with a cruel sneer. "Because we have a job of keeping a couple of street rats off our territory." The boy then pushed Billie to the ground and turned his attention to Eliot. "Now, let's get to the extermination." The boy was about to hit Eliot until a hand gripped his fist. He was afraid that it was the police, or worse a soldier, who did it until he turned and saw England's most infuriating do-gooder, Peter Pevensie.

"Leave him alone, Abbott." Peter snarled at him but Abbott tore his fist from his grip.

"Shove off Pevensie, the boys and I are just having a little fun." Abbott smiled sinisterly but didn't return his gaze to Eliot.

"You call harassing a couple of kids' _fun_?" Peter asked incredulously, thinking that these idiots were even lower than he thought.

"Look, why don't you just go off and…do whatever it is stupid pretty boys do."

"You really are stupid, aren't you?" Peter said in a patronizing tone that he knew would make Abbott even angrier.

"Shut up." Abbott snarled stepping closer to Peter, trying to intimidate him but not getting through Peter's year of keeping himself calm in front of a raging beast.

"Or what?" Peter asked in a bored voice.

Abbott couldn't give a sufficient answer because he knew from previous failed attempts that he just couldn't scared either of the Pevensie boys. He said gruffly to his friends "Let's go." The two underlings were reluctant but they roughly released Eliot who shook his arms like their touch had already set a plague on him. The pack then purposely pushed past Peter and not even five feet away Abbott said "I'm waiting."

"Excuse me?" Peter asked starting to get annoyed and Eliot and Billie looked at each other nervously. They knew that look in Peter's eyes: the looked of a man whose pride was wounded and was not one you would want to push.

"_You_ bumped _us_. Now apologize or we're going to have to get rough." Abbott said already cracking his knuckles while his underlings mirrored the action.

"Maybe we should go." Eliot suggested, though this was more for Billie's benefit than his own. He loved Billie like a sister and didn't want to see her hurt. However nether of them moved because they just couldn't leave before this ended. While Eliot made the suggestion, Abbott must've said something else that was pretty stupid because after his lips stopped moving Peter punched him in the face and the fight was on. Eliot and Billie joined in the fight because whether they liked it or not Peter helped them so it was only fair.

Eliot and Billie tag-teamed against one of the Underling #1 while Peter was being mangled by Abbott and Underling #2, not a pretty sight. A crowd quickly started to form and egged the 'boys' on. Eliot grabbed Underling #1's arms behind his back and yelled at Billie to take a shot. Before she could Underling #1 threw his head back so that he could hit Eliot in the head. While Eliot reeled from the pain, Underling #1 was able to slip his arms off and punched Billie right in the face, exerting a high-pitched scream of pain that shocked some of the crowd, though because of their own cheering it was not heard much.

Lucy Pevensie, a young girl with long auburn hair tucked in pigtail braids and blue eyes which held wisdom beyond her years, had just brought her sister Susan Pevensie to the fight, where their brother Peter was getting his head bashed in. Again. Susan shook her head at him when Peter caught her eye, before being dragged again by Abbott and Underling #. A dark haired boy by the name of Edmund Pevensie entered the fight, ignoring the call of his younger sister, and picked up where Billie and Eliot left off in holding off on of the underlings while Pevensie was fighting Abbott. Once he had seen that she was hurt, Eliot grabbed Billie and pulled her away before Underling #1 could take another crack at her.

Just then I heard the sounds of whistles and everyone not directly involved got away. They were pushing and shoving and Lucy didn't notice that one of her ribbons had fallen to the ground. "Break it up!" a guard shouted. "That's enough. Come on." He and other guards tore the boys apart. "Act your age!" One guard shouted at Peter before pushing him to the side. Billie and Eliot tried to slip away but one of the soldiers spotted them.

"Hey you!" He called over in a voice that made it clear of what he thought of them. "Come over." Seeing that they couldn't run now, they decided to comply with the solider. Abbott and his underlings, along with the Pevensie brothers, decided to see how this played out. "Now what were you doing over here?"

Eliot and Billie looked at each other. They didn't feel like they should tell him but because Billie was rather inept at lying Eliot gave her a look in his eyes that told her that he would do the talking. Turning to the officer he said "We were just doing some errands for my mum. We needed to buy things from the market and the tube was the fastest way there."

The oldest soldier, the one that called them over, held his head higher and snorted "Likely story. And what's your part in this fight?"

Before either Billie or Eliot could tell their stories, Abbott said "They're the ones who started it. My friends and I were just walking on by when they tried to rob us."

"What?" Eliot nearly shouted but the oldest soldier raised his hand to silence him.

"We tried to fight them off but these two," he pointed to the Pevensie brothers, "must've been helping them because they attacked us too."

"That's a lie!" Billie exclaimed. One thing about Billie is that when she lies, her voice becomes shy and quiet, but when she is telling the truth, she becomes loud. "They came at us from out of nowhere and called Eliot a-a-"

"A what?" The elder man asked.

Billie couldn't even spurt out the foul name, thinking it an insult to even say it in private let alone in front of him. Luckily Eliot took over and said "He called me a Wog."

The Pevensie brother's eyes widened and then glared at Abbott and his gang with disgust in their eyes. Their parents had taught them better than that and they were middle class, while Abbott was rich and he spoke like a sailor.

The elder soldier, however, was not entirely moved. He turned to Abbott and his friends "You may leave, but you two," he turned to Billie and Eliot, "you're coming with us."

"What? Why?" Eliot asked outraged and nearly lost it when he saw Abbott's smug face.

"Sir, they didn't do anything wrong, if anything it was Abbott and his gang of buffoons." Edmund said shooting a look at Abbott.

"Regardless, these two will need to be detained."

"Sir, we are both citizens of England under King George V, and you cannot detain us without justifiable cause." Billie said in a dangerous tone. "If you do, you will be going against the law and possibly be even more demoted than you already are."

Billie's word must've hit a sore spot with the elder soldier, as his white face became red before he was forced to compose himself for appearances sake. He straightened his back before announcing "Alright, all of you go. I'm not going to detain anyone, but I'm warning you now. If I find that anyone of you in another fight, I will detain you all, I won't care who started it." With those final words the soldiers left, leaving the boys (plus one girl) alone.

"You got lucky this time Wog." Abbott said not relenting for one second. "If I see your ass around here again, I promise you that-" Abbott didn't finish because Billie stepped forward and slapped him straight across the face. It was so hard that the sound echoed through the tube and the force behind it knocked her hat off. The boys were shocked to see her curly sun-kissed hair fall to her shoulders, the bangs that had been held back fell across her blue eyes. Edmund was most shocked because at that moment, he thought that she was very pretty.

"I'll not let you insult my friend any longer, you oaf!" Billie shouted utterly disgusted by Abbott's course language. Taking the hint, Abbott soon left with his underlings, giving them all one last dirty look.

Eliot picked up Billie's hat and handed it to her. "Guess your secrets out."

Billie took it and didn't even bother hiding her hair again. "Yeah, but I do always love the reactions people give when they see that I'm not a boy. Speaking of which…" Billie turned to the Pevensie brothers who were getting over the shock of Billie's true gender "…thanks for helping us out. Both of you."

"No problem." Peter said and when Edmund said nothing, he nudged him. Edmund was still staring at Billie. "Um, yeah, no problem." Billie smiled, thinking that he was kind of cute himself. Eliot saw the interaction between Edmund and his friend and stepped forward and placed an arm around Billie's shoulders. This was a gesture they were both comfortable with because it showed how comfortable they were with each other, but Edmund didn't know that because his eyes went a bit dark.

"Well, we better go. We've got to finish that errand, right Billie?" Eliot asked tugging her in the other direction. They were already running late as it was, and if they didn't get there soon then Mr. Barnes would kill them. And they were even more scared because if their mums found out then they would die young.

Eliot and Billie and Peter and Edmund soon parted ways, but not for long.

**Reviews are appreciated. And a head-ups, I will wait until at least five reviews to update again.**

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	2. A Simple Ribbon Leads to a Strange Place

**Sorry for the long wait. Something's wrong with my fanfiction email and I didn't get the last reviews until about today. Suspicious…**

**And for all those who thought that Peter was noble in the last one…sorry…**

**Disclaimer: I own only Billie and Eliot.**

**Enjoy! : ) **

"_Impossible situations can become possible miracles." _~**Robert H. Schuller**

**A Simple Ribbon Leads to a Strange Place**

"Ah bugger! Its seven minutes before we're supposed to clock in. We'll never make it!" Eliot said looking at his pocket watch, seeing that it was 10:53 A.M., and technically it wasn't his watch. His mother gave it to him for his tenth birthday when she finally thought that it was time to answer his seemingly endless questions about his father. She couldn't answer them all because after their "encounter" at her college, he just disappeared and didn't come back. She became friends with Clarissa Kipling, Billie's mother, and soon the Morgan-Kipling family friendship began.

Billie pulled her hair back into the hat and said "Well then let's get mo-" Billie stopped when she looked down at a pink ribbon that had fallen to the ground. She swore she had seen it somewhere before and picked it up, ignoring her mother's voice in her head telling her not to pick up things from the floor.

Eliot came over and looked at the ribbon. He was surprised that he too remembered it from somewhere but he shook it off more quickly than Billie did. "Come on. Let's take the shortcut before Mr. Barnes fires us or worse, tells our mums."

They soon went in the same direction as the Pevensie brothers because coincidentally enough their shortcut to Mr. Barnes factory was right past the tube station. But they would have to hurry in order to avoid the vein popping wrath of the old man.

"Billie, will you stop fussing over that ribbon?" Eliot asked getting more annoyed since Billie stared intently at the cute, and slightly dirty, pink ribbon. So intently that she started to slow down. Something was just dulling her brain, focusing all her attention on that ribbon. Actually, it wasn't even the ribbon itself that caught her attention, it was the feeling that she got that she _really _ needed to return it to the girl who it belonged to.

"I just feel like I should return it to the girl who this belongs to." Billie answered not meeting his eyes while he tried to goad her into a run. He was then forced to walk beside her.

"Who cares about whom it belongs to? If we don't get to the factory in…five minutes." he grabbed the ribbon from Billie's hands, not to her will though. "Then he's going to take this ribbon and-"

"So you hit him?" A voice cried in disbelief ahead of them. Billie and Eliot looked up and saw the familiar Pevensie brothers along with two others girls. One of the girls was closer to the age of Peter, a young woman by the name of Susan Pevensie, had soft, wavy brown hair that framed an almost porcelain face with blue eyes accenting it. The girl next to her was the youngest by far. She had straight brownish hair with blue eyes that twinkled innocently, though at the moment she was staring at Peter as the eldest boy paced with an emotion akin to great disappointment. Something the two outsiders noticed was that she was hastily re-braiding one pigtail that had come undone, while the other still remained a tight hold on her hair. They also saw that the ribbon holding the other one together was a pink ribbon identical to the one Billie was holding.

"No, they were bullying a couple of kids. And after they bumped me, they tried to make me apologize. That's when I hit him." Peter said with a tone that suggested that he expected them to understand immediately.

"As admirable as your actions were, is it really that hard just to walk away." Susan said to him as if talking to a child, which he was acting like at the moment.

"I shouldn't have to. I mean, don't you ever get tired of being treated like a kid?" Peter said, as if the idea of standing down to a fight was outrageous. Even though he started out for a good cause he only started to throw his fists when Abbott further wounded his pride by called him "half a man".

"Um, we are kids." His brother remarked. Billie and Eliot quietly snickered at the comment. Peter may have helped them but he was sounding just ridiculous at the moment.

"I wasn't always." Peter shot back. _What does he mean by that?_, they thought. _How can you possibly be an adult before you've grown up? _For a moment they began to think that he was just barking mad.

"It's been a year." Peter continued. "How long does he expect us to wait?" Who one earth was he talking about? And what was even stranger was that the others seemed to know what, or rather who, he was talking about.

"I think it's time to accept that we all live here now. It's no use pretending any different." Susan said crossing her arms. Finally at the moment the youngest girl must've sensed that Eliot and Billie were watching them because she looked up straight at them. Her eyes then zeroed in on the ribbon in Eliot's hand and she exclaimed something and pointed at them.

Walking forward she said "That's my ribbon. Thank you so much for finding it!" Lucy stopped in front of Eliot and really looked at him. Lucy Pevensie was a special girl because she always looked at someone for who they were, not for what they looked like. However this time it seemed that Eliot's looks had certainly gained the interest of this young girl. She had never really thought about boys before, but Eliot certainly caught her attention.

Eliot noticed that little girl staring at him oddly, and looked to Billie confused. But his friend was no help as she shrugged her shoulders, barely suppressing a smile. Eliot then cleared his voice and spoke, breaking Lucy's thoughts. "We just found it on the ground. Sorry if it's a little dirty. I suppose that having people stampede on it didn't improve its condition."

Lucy giggled like she never had before, and it freaked her out. Billie bit her lip to keep from laughing at Eliot's confused expression and Lucy's beet red face. _Someone's got a crush on Eliot_. Billie sang in her head. Lucy quickly grabbed the ribbon and tied her pigtail, trying to ignore the heat that suddenly rushed to her face. _Get a hold of yourself Lucy! _"Um, well, thank you!" Lucy said then sat down, trying her best to ignore her siblings' looks. Eliot and Billie went to walk on but were stopped by a cry because as soon as Lucy sat down she cried "Ow!"

"Quiet Lu." Her sister said, looking around and hoping that no one was looking.

"Something pinched me!" Lucy said pointing to her seat. Soon they were all out of their seats with exclamations of their own.

"Is everything all right?" Billie asked walking up to them with Eliot, and upon seeing him Lucy started to blush and fiddle with her fingers. Before anyone could get another word in the world seemed to be disappearing around them. Billie and Eliot stared open-mouthed as brick by brick the tube, but no one outside the group seemed to notice that the station was tearing itself apart. Neither of the friends was sure which was stranger, the world seemingly coming to an end or everyone's passivity.

"What is that?" Susan questioned.

"It feels like magic." Lu said happily.

"Perhaps it is." I said as a strange feeling of excitement washed over me.

"Quick everyone hold hands." Susan commanded but the Edmund and Eliot protested. Peter and Billie both rolled their eyes and grabbed onto Edmund's hands (Billie and Edmund feeling a little flustered) and Billie grabbed Eliot's. The world continued to fall around them. The Pevensie's saw it as something familiar, something that should be celebrated because they understood what it meant. But unfortunately to poor Eliot and Billie they were half terrified and half fascinated; the latter half kept them from screaming at the top of their longs. An outwardly endless train then passed by at a speed that should have been physically impossible to meet. In fact the Billie and Eliot night not have even noticed that it was there if not for its large shell and the light shining through the blurring windows. As quickly as it came, the train itself disappeared with one final blaring call of its horn and the six teenagers were left standing in a cave that connected with a beautiful beach. Walking out of the cave, they could see the clear warm blue water rolling gently onto the clear white sand. As the sun shone down on them, Billie and Eliot's eyes widened as they beheld the most beautiful beach they had ever seen.

Lucy walked in front of the others and smiled a great smile. Soon all the Pevensie's took of rubbing, shedding their warm winter coats and scarves onto the sand and jumped into the water.

"Come on in the water with us!" Lucy shouted to Billie and Eliot. They both looked at each other before shrugging and running to the water. They took off their coats and their hats, Billie's hair falling to her shoulders but this went unnoticed by the others as they were too high on the euphoria of being back. They splashed each other with the salty sea water and got themselves completely soaked. Edmund stopped after a few minutes and looked up to the top of the rocks next to the beach.

"Edmund? Ed!" Susan asked, looking at him as she noticed that he had stopped. The others ceased their actions as well, wondering what could've stopped Edmund's good mood.

"Where do you suppose we are?" He asked the others, his eyes glancing at them before moving their way upwards. Billie followed his gaze and saw that there were ruins on top of what she at first thought of as a mountain, but then changed her mind and decided on the deteriorated edge of an island.

"Where do you think?" Peter laughed, thinking it obvious though neither of the teens outside of the Pevensie family even knew where they were. Just that it was very bright and the air condition put all of Europe to shame.

"Well, I don't remember there being any ruins in Narnia." Edmund said and finally the others looked up and saw that Edmund was right. There were ruins at the top of the mountain (or edge as Billie called them). They made got out of the water and only when they went to walk to the ruins did someone finally notice Billie's hair.

"You're a girl!" Lucy shouted, pointing at Billie. Lucy and Susan both stared wide eyes and their mouths hung open in an unladylike fashion as the boys snickered at their sisters' expressions. They remembered their own shocked selves back in the tube station in England, thought Edmund's was the more comical one. If the hat stayed on, no one could've thought that Billie was actually a boy because with not only the hat but the light amount of grime on her face and the bandages flattening her breasts (the ones that were starting to feel a tinge uncomfortable at that moment).

"You know, you're really starting to suck at being a guy." Eliot said walking up next to her. Billie shot him a look while stretching, hoping to relieve some of the pain caused by the tight bandages. She really shouldn't have gone crazy with it.

"Really? Well I would've thought that a bit obvious since I'm a _girl_." Billie rolled her eyes and Edmund's lips cracked into a smile, causing Billie's own to shine out a bit.

"But why were you pretending to be a boy?" Lucy asked.

Billie shrugged her shoulders and pointed to the ruins. "On the way." They realized that she wouldn't tell them immediately, as she and Eliot walking down the beach trying to find a way up to the ruins, and caught up to them. Though Peter immediately took charge and put himself in front of them so people would literally have to follow him. They were still walking around the beach when something caught Eliot's eye, something just told him that he needed to look. He turned his head and barely visible, near invisible since by one glance anyone would've missed it, were branches that fell on each other in a strange pattern. Eliot stopped following Peter, unnoticed by anyone except Billie (as they had been walking in the back) and went to investigate.

"Eliot? What are you doing?" Billie asked and inadvertently caught everyone's attention. Eliot continued walking to the branches and saw something through them. Pulling them back his eyes widened. "I found a path!"

"What?" Peter asked incredulously.

"There's a path…behind these branches!" Elliot strained trying to break the branches but they were more resilient than he would have expected. Billie rushed forward to help him and, not wanting to make them (particularly Billie) do it on their own, Edmund came forward as well. Together all three tore away the branches and revealed a clear path towards the ruins.

"Way to go Eliot!" Billie exclaimed hugging her with one arm. This action was noticed by both Lucy and Edmund, each feeling a hint of jealousy. She turned to the others when they saw that they hadn't moved. "Well come on then! You wanted to see the ruins and I doubt you want to keep walking forever."

Peter grumbled and walked past them, displeased that he had missed that. He was supposed to lead them but now these two kids found a simple path that even he couldn't. The other followed him, though they were happy that he had at least been put in his place in a small way. Lord knows that he would need it.

**Sorry for the wait once again but a review would still be appreciated. **

**Bye!**


	3. Revealing a Few Secrets

**Pics of Billie and Eliot on profile, also of their clothes. **

**Also I don't know why but apparently fanfiction has once again decided to hate me and it took I don't know how long for one of my chapters to update. Ugh! So frustrating! **

**Disclaimer: I own only Billie and Eliot.**

**Enjoy! : ) **

"_Secrets are made to be found out with time." _**~Charles Sanford **

**Revealing a Few Secrets **

Although Peter was still a little steamed that Eliot had found the path before he had, the clear Narnian air had filled his lungs with a lighter feeling than he had ever felt in England. The walk was a long one but they were gradually starting to grow stronger with each step, as such was the general aura of Narnia. Since they had not been here before, Eliot and Billie only felt the good effects of the Narnian air, but for the Pevensie's there was a very subtle change in the atmosphere around them. Something just wasn't right.

"Billie, you still haven't told us why you were pretending to be a boy." Lucy asked ever the persistent one. They had learned their names when they started to hike up, if any were confused.

Billie (who was behind Peter and Lucy) turned to Eliot who was behind her, and behind him was Susan and Edmund, for an answer but he shrugged. She knew him long enough to know that the gesture meant 'Might as well tell them'. Billie sighed and said "Well Eliot and I work in a steel factory, and while the hours are long at least the pay isn't all too bad. Unfortunately they only hire boys so I pretended to be a boy to get in with Eliot." Eliot sent Billie a look that meant that he knew the bigger reason for her disguise.

"Why are you two working in the first place?" Edmund asked from the back looking at Billie but Eliot answered.

"Times are hard and our mums' single income paycheck can't handle everything." Eliot said with a shrug.

"So they sent you to work there?" Susan asked admonished. She would never imagine her own mother to send her to work in a factory since they are notorious for their poor working conditions.

"Oh God no." Eliot said defending his mother. He would never dishonor her because of all she sacrificed. She was born into the Morgan family, a family that had been in England for generations, so she lost a lot when she had Eliot and refused to give him up. "They would kill us if they found out."

"They were actually against us working but we convinced them that we were working at a grocer's shop. And that was true, up until a week ago."

"What happened a week ago?" Lucy asked but before Billie could answer Eliot cut her off.

"Just a misunderstanding. Granted, an over-the-top one, but a _misunderstanding_ nonetheless." They could all guess that something bad must have happened because this 'misunderstanding' made Eliot's blood boil.

They soon came upon an apple orchard and one thought crossed their minds. 'Food'. Peter plucked a bright red apple off a branch and brushed it cleaned on his sweater. He then tossed it to Lucy who caught it in her hands and ate it hungrily.

"Does anyone still have their sandwiches?" Lucy asked anyone in particular.

"Well," Peter started "I left mine in my bag, and I left my bag in the train station, and then I left the train station in England."

"Weird, this talk about sandwiches is making me hungry." Eliot said with a slight sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Everything makes you hungry." Billie said. "Walking more than a mile, talking to just about anyone, even that girl who works in the Jiffy mart makes you hungry."

"True, but I'm a growing boy. I need my nourishment." Eliot defended, not seeing the slightly distressed look on Lucy's face when she heard about the girl, and when she mouthed 'What girl?'

"Yes, well if you don't try to curb your 'nourishment' you're going to end up like my uncle Donald." Billie said, causing both her and Eliot to shiver when they thought of her mother's robust brother. "Myabe you should get some exercise in and get us some more apples."

"Why me?"

"Because 1) you good at climbing trees and 2) because I told you so." Billie said with a smug smile on her face that made Edmund's face twitch with laughter. Eliot gave a dramatic sigh, turned his hat so that the flap was on the side and started up the tree.

"I think I was better at this before." Eliot said when it took him only half a minute to get to the top where all the good apples were.

"Yeah, about 20 pounds ago." (I know that only the US uses pounds to measure weight but I don't know what to convert) Billie shouted to him as he plucked his first apple and dropped it to her. He then continued to drop it to the others but accidently hit Edmund in the head because the boy was staring at Billie.

"Ow! What was that for?" Edmund protested glaring at Eliot who had a cringe on his face because the apple colliding with Edmund's head made a pretty good popping sound. Eliot got down from the tree and said "Sorry about that." then he got closer to Edmund, picked up the apple and whispered so that no one else would hear "But it's your own fault for keeping your eye on Billie rather than the apple." He then pushed the apple into Edmund's hands and walked on, taking a sneaking glance back and smirking at the shocked expression on the Just King's face.

At last they made it to the ruins, but it was not a pretty sight. At the top of the rocks, they moved between broken walls and demolished columns. They all split up and searched the ruins to see if anyone was there that could help them or at the very least find some clue that would tell them where they were. Eliot stayed with Lucy (or rather she 'suggested' that they explore together), Peter and Edmund went off and Susan and Billie went as well searching a large space between pillars.

Lucy led Eliot over to an ocean view and thought that maybe it was too presumptuous to think that he would be interested in her. She was eleven then but unfortunately for her she that didn't save her from insecurities such as wishing to be as…filled out as her sister Susan. Plus Eliot was as old as Edmund so her confidence began to wane, but this was only the first day. Things could change.

"I've got to say, whoever lived here had an impressive view of the ocean." Eliot said and she looked up at him then frowned in confusion when he grabbed for something under his shirt. He pulled out a leather bound sketch pad with a pencil tied down by the tether. He opened it up and started sketching.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked as he started sketching the ocean view with the rocks and soft waves and just about everything an artist's eye can see.

Eliot took the time to look at her before saying "Sketching. Not drawing, sketching."

"Why?" She asked but Eliot shrugged.

"I like sketching things. My mum says it's my 'artistic eye' for things. And this view is fantastic."

"You know, I do wonder who lived here," Lucy thought out loud.

Edmund passed a broken wall as Billie and Susan made their way toward Lucy and Eliot. Neither of the girls missed the look Lucy was giving Eliot while he was talking to her about not who might have lived in those ruins (for they couldn't have always been), but how lucky they must've been to have. It was then that Susan stepped on a tiny gold man. Picking it up, she looked at it before handing it to Billie, who also looked it over with widened eyes. She had never seen such a great piece of gold. Great equally the amount of detail that went into the tiny statue instead of the amount of gold it was probably worth, but the dollar value certainly nagged at her mind.

"I think we did," Susan replied, looking around. Billie looked at her strangely as the others came over. Eliot stuffed the sketch pad under his shirt once again, giving Lucy the slightest views of his abs which were toned thanks to the long hours of working in the steel factory. Needless to say this girl was blushing like crazy and couldn't look Eliot in the eyes.

Everyone made their way over to Susan and Billie who still stared at the statue in astonishment. "Hey, that's mine...from my chess set." Edmund said. Peter reached the group last.

"Which chess set?" Peter asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?" Edmund rolled his eyes taking it from Billie. They hands brushed together, causing them to both blush a bit but mostly feel embarrassed by their feelings. They both blamed it on their hormones.

Edmund looked the gold chess piece over in his hands, a small smile on his face as he fondly remembered all the matches he won with his chess set. Eliot and Billie were staring at the chess piece with wide and slightly greedy eyes. Growing up they never had enough money to sustain them like others families, so seeing that one piece of gold could greatly improve their lives. They slapped themselves mentally when they realized how…_thief-like _they were letting themselves become, but they both knew that it was still pretty tempting.

Lucy then noticed something that the others apparently did not. She whispered breathlessly "It can't be..." She ran over to a wide space with a raised platform with steps. The others followed her and once everyone was there, she brought her siblings on top of the platform and turned them all to face the same direction.

"Can't you see? Imagine walls...and columns there...and a glass roof..." An epiphany washed over all the Pevensie's as they realized the answer to Lucy's previous question.

Peter sighed "Cair Paravel." Billie and Eliot felt uncomfortable as now it was apparent that they were outsiders in this world as they had been in their own. It is a very lonely existence to feel outside of society, and it is very sad when one thinks that they can't even engage in social activities without experiencing scrutiny. Luckily for Eliot and Billie they had each other in a sense, so their existence wasn't as bad as it could be.

Unable to stand being out of the loop any longer, Eliot asked "Okay, what is going on?"

The four monarchs looked at Billie and Eliot who looked at them suspiciously. This was going to be a long explanation. Lucy was the first to tell them about Narnia (the world they didn't think should be possible) as she had been the first one to visit it, and soon the others joined in. The two outsiders had to sit down because their minds were so busy absorbing all the information that it neglected their poor numb legs. No one knew how much time had passed for the four monarchs to fully tell their story to them, from their evacuation to Professor Kirke's home in the country to their return from fifteen years of rule, and when they were finished neither of the two teenagers could speak. Billie then stood up and said "Will you excuse us? We need-to talk and-come on Eliot!" She practically dragged Eliot to his feet and walked several feet away, making sure that they were out of hearing range.

"Well, I don't think they're mad." Billie said, trying to breathe but because of the stress and the ever tightening bandages it was becoming difficult.

"Either that or we are." Eliot sighed, putting his hands on his hips in exasperation. "We're not dreaming this are we?"

"I'm afraid not. This is just too real. But there is one way to test it."

"How?" A second after Eliot asked that Billie pinched his arm hard. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For saying that I sucked at pretending to be a boy." Billie said cheerfully and then turned to the Pevensie's who looked at her curiously, her blond curls bouncing behind her.

"You are a violent, violent girl." Eliot muttered rubbing his arm and following after her.

"Well, we believe you. Or at the very least we don't think you're crazy." Billie said happily which only made the others a tiny bit weirded out.

"And if it's okay with you guys, I would like to uphold safety in numbers until we all know what's going on here." Eliot said, making it clear that he doesn't want either himself or Billie to be left alone in this strange yet fascinating new world.

Before anyone else Lucy exclaimed "Of course you can stay with us. There's no way we're going to leave you…you two to fend for yourselves." She bounced over to Eliot's side and sent a pointed look at the others that clearly meant 'Agree or there will be hell to pay.' They had never seen such a look on Lucy's usually innocent face and nodded in agreement, though Peter narrowed his eyes at how his _baby_ sister stared at Eliot who smiled a bit awkwardly once he noticed.

The girls and guys separated to cover more ground. The girls searched the center courtyard to see if any other clues like the golden chess piece were around, while the guys did the same thing in the area around it. Lucy and Susan were greatly saddened when they saw that the courtyard they had once so meticulously taken care off overgrown with weeds and grass and the fountain and other columns smashed. They hoped that by looking at the fall of the once magnificent castle, there would be some clue for them, retelling the story of when and how. After walking for a few minutes, Edmund had seen a patch over dirt and some stones that was shouldn't have been there naturally. So he knelt down and further examined it before coming to a conclusion.

"Catapults." he declared," This didn't just happen. Cair Paravel was attacked."

The boys all looked at each other seriously before Peter and Edmund spotted a wall and moved toward the mostly intact piece of architeceture.

"What is it?" Eliot asked but the boys didn't answer, too busy moving it. Eliot called the girls over before going to help them, and eventually the boys pushed back the wall to expose a door. Peter, deciding that the wooden door was already so rotten, pushed it and it collapsed on itself. The musty smell of age coming from the door as the fiber spilled into the air and whatever lay beneath them came up to them as they stared into the darkness that led downwards. Eliot thought _I really hope we're not erecting some old man's grave. _Peter, using the utility knife he carried with him, tore the bottom of his shirt and then wrapped the strip of cloth around a stick while the others watched him.

He then looked up at Edmund and Eliot and asked "I don't suppose either of you would have any matches on you?"

"Not me." Eliot said turning out his pockets, revealing a Swiss army knife, a present that Billie gave him when they were thirteen.

Edmund then looked around in the bag he was still carrying over his shoulder. "No, but would this help?" he asked, pulling out a silver torch. Everyone grinned at the look on Peter's face.

"You might have mentioned that a bit sooner!" Peter said though everyone could see the smile on his face. With Edmund in the lead, the six children made their way down the staircase with no light other than Edmund's torch, which was big trouble for anyone who was too far from it.

"Whoa!" Lucy yelped when she missed a step but luckily for her someone caught her in his arms. Strong arms, she might add.

"Are you alright?" Eliot asked her genuinely concerned. Luckily because of the poor lighting Eliot couldn't see Lucy's beet red face reach a new shade.

"I-I'm alright…but do you mind if I hold onto you? I don't want to fall again." Lucy asked with a sly but in her own way innocent scheme on the mind.

"Um, okay, just watch your step." Eliot said and Lucy shyly grabbed onto his arm while they continued walking down. Now as it was mentioned before, because of the poor lighting no one could see the knowing expressions on Susan and Billie's faces or Edmund's wary one. Nor the angry and now highly suspicious look on Peter's face. Lucy was his youngest sister, and he always viewed her as the pure hearted one but now…he realized that because of Eliot she was officially interested in boys which meant that she was growing up. Needless to say he hated that.

They continued walking down the stairs until they reached a dusty room with statues and chests in it. And not only were their chests, but literally piles upon piles of artifacts made of solid gold and jewels that sparkled unbelievably. There were four small alcoves, each with a statue in it for each king and queen.

"I can't believe it, it's all still here," Peter said, looking around in awe. After what he had seen of what was left of Cair Paravel he was surprised that the treasury had not previously been discovered. Although, to his and his siblings' credit, they did compose a way to hide the treasury and its contents completely in plain sight; they could find it when no one else would. The Pevensie's all branched off to their own chests which were each made out of solid gold. Billie and Eliot stared open mouthed and Eliot even picked up a gold coin and lifted it up in the light.

Eliot then bit down on it, immediately retracting it from his mouth with a small groan. "Oh my God! It's real!"

"No kidding!" Billie nearly exclaimed when she felt the weight of the coin in her hand once Eliot passed it to her.

"I was so tall!" Lucy exclaimed putting the dress up to her and finding it far too long, causing Billie and Eliot to focus on them once again. Though acting on that innate yet sometimes bothersome self-preservation, Billie gripped the coin in her hand and slipped it in her pocket. She would certainly regret this later.

Susan smiled at her younger sister, reminiscing about how so much had changed but this time in a lighter frame of mind. "Well, you were older then."

"As opposed to hundreds of years later…when you're younger." The girls and Eliot turned to Edmund's voice and giggled (or in Eliot's case chuckled, because boys never giggle) at what they saw. Edmund had put on his old helmet on his head, which was far too big for him. It was so big that he covered his eyes and they could just see his skin and hair.

Billie walked over and tapped on the metal, causing it to echo in Edmund's head. Billie said smartly "You know, when you told us you used to be adults I did kind of imagine you with a big head."

"Hey!" Edmund cried indignantly though the grin that grew on his face gave him away. Billie smiled and took off his helmet, getting a better look at his chocolate colored eyes. At that moment, Billie didn't know why, but her favorite color suddenly became brown. And when Lucy looked at Eliot, she had the same realization, only the shade she had in mind was darker.

Peter, after seeing this interaction of his siblings with Billie and Eliot, opened his chest and took out an old shield. Holding it firmly he blew dust off of it to reveal that it had been carved to look like a lion's face, or more specifically Aslan's face. Looking at it Peter could've sworn that Aslan himself was watching him, testing him. Peter put the shield down, went back to looking in his chest and then pulled out his most prized possession from Narnia: his sword. Holding the blade in his hand reminded him of the feeling of mixed pride and nervousness he experienced when Father Christmas first gave it to him. He unsheathed it and looked at the blade, remembering about the battles he won with the sword, not remembering the ones he won without it. Everyone turned to look at him when they saw he had a weapon.

"When Aslan bares his teeth, winter meets its death." Peter started reading the famous inscription that was etched into his blade. Lucy then picked up from where Peter started. "When he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." Lucy finished with a sad tone in her voice. Everyone looked her way, feeling a sort of sadness come over them. Even Billie and Eliot, who were still somewhat out of the loop, understood that something was wrong, something saddened the once bright mood among the Pevensie's.

"Everyone we knew," Lucy said looking at the others," Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers, they're all gone." Everyone looked at Peter for guidance, because he was the oldest and in some way they all knew that he was the best to look to for direction at the moment.

"I think it's time we found out what's going on," he replied, sheathing his sword," Let's change clothes so we can blend in. Eliot." said boy's head lifted at Peter who waved him over. Once over there Peter looked him up and down with a calculating look before saying "You'll borrow some of Edmund's clothes. I think it'll be a better fit." Eliot didn't really like being told what to do but he figured that borrowed clothes would be better than no clothes.

"Billie over here." Susan called and said girl came over to the girls. "I think you should try some of my dresses."

"Not that I'm not grateful but can't I wear some of the guy's clothes?" Billie asked.

"You don't need to pretend to be a guy anymore, Billie. It's okay." Susan said while she and Lucy searched through her chest.

"But-"

"Trust us, you'll look fine. Besides I want to know what you look like in a dress."Lucy said innocently and Billie gave up. There would be no dissuading these two once they joined forces.

Finally after about 10 minutes Billie and Eliot came out. Well Eliot did it willingly and step out in a purple tunic, brown belt and green pants. He had no weapon as the boys swords were all they had, but that didn meant that the boys wouldn't train him and Billie.

"A little Renaissance, but I think I like it." Eliot said then looked around and shouted "Billie! You ready?"

"Never!" Billie replied and the boys heard some grunting and what sounded like sounds of a struggle. The boys glanced at each other when they saw Susan and Lucy trying to pull something out but it refused to budge. Eliot knew immediately that it was Billie. Once Lucy saw Eliot she dropped Billie's hand which caused Susan to stumble. Lucy stared at him with lips slightly parted before shaking her head. Eliot wouldn't be interested in her. She was only 11 and he was what? 15? 16? The point was that she wasn't old enough for him to be interested in her. So, deciding to push these thoughts out of her mind for now, she grabbed Billie's hand again with one sharp tug their pulled Billie into the light.

Edmund gave a light gasp which the other boys heard but the other Pevensie realized just why. Even if they didn't know Billie all that well they had only ever seen her as a boy or with her hair down. But not that she took off the bandages and wiped her face, along with wearing a dress, they had to look twice to make sure it was still the same person. Billie wore a green dress with a scoop neckline, her hair was down in soft curls, but it was her chest that got their attention. Let's face it, boys will be boys, but because of years of chivalry the Pevensie brothers looked away a little embarrassed though Eliot laughed a bit. The reason why Billie had to make the bandages so tight was because her chest was a bit larger, though not overly so. Even then she tried covering them by crossing her arms.

Walking up to her Eliot joked "You know I almost forget that you had-"

Billie punched him in the air and said "Shut up!" Then when she noticed that the others were staring she said "Well what are you waiting for? Let's move!"

**And now you've seen what Billie is like in a dress. Also I feel a little bad for Lucy but don't worry; she'll have a happy ending.**

**Reviews are appreciated (especially five of them).**

**Bye!**


	4. Grumpy Dwarves Give A Lot of Information

**In case you didn't know I'm applied a 10-review-rule to all my stories. Sorry but that's the new fee. Don't worry it will not be raised higher than that. Also for all stories if you guys want to submit a character to the story then feel free.**

**Also if any of you want to see a particular memory between Billie and Eliot then put in your review.**

**Disclaimer: I own only Billie and Eliot.**

**Enjoy! : ) **

**"_I feel like one  
Who treads alone  
Some banquet-hall deserted,  
Whose lights are fled,  
Whose garlands dead  
And all but he departed!" _****~Thomas Moore (Irish Poet, 1779-1852)****_  
_**

**Grumpy Dwarves Give A Lot of Information**

**Before any of them could even formulate a plan on where to find a fellow Narnian, it was brought to them. Two soldiers were prepared to drop a tied up dwarf into a lake to drown when Susan expertly shot an arrow at the boat. **"Drop him!" She shouted. The soldiers just shrugged and threw the dwarf in the water. When one of them tried to fire a crossbow Susan shot him, this time in chest, and the other one was smart enough to swim away. The boys dove in – Edmund going after the boat, Peter going after the dwarf and Eliot after the dead soldier who fell in the soldier. He swam down towards the bottom of the lake where the soldier was just floating there. Eliot felt disgusted with himself for doing it but he knew that those weapons he was carrying would be more helpful later. So after he unstrapped the sword from his belt and the crossbow from his side, Eliot kicked up to the surface and sucked in a breath of air. It became more difficult heaving the weapons to land but he made it just in time to see Lucy cut the bonds of the dwarf. Billie helped Eliot out of the water and grabbed the weapons in her hands while he regained his breath.

"Are you okay?" Billie asked while Eliot coughed up a little water and rung the water out of his clothes.

"Yeah, but I feel like a black wet dog."

"Drop him?" the dwarf shouted at Susan who looked like she had been slapped, though with more anger than hurt. He threw down the rag that had previously been acting as a gag to the ground in a rage. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"A simple thank you would suffice." Susan huffed obviously peeved that the dwarf was treating her in such a way.

"They were doing just fine drowning me without your help!"

"Maybe we should have let them." Peter said obviously not appreciating the dwarf's tone.

"Whoa, tough love." Eliot muttered and Billie nodded in agreement.

"Why were they trying to kill you anyway?" Lucy asked worrying for the safety of this dwarf and wondering why anyone would try to kill him. For a second she thought he might be a criminal but she didn't know a Narnian punishment harsh enough to drown a criminal, nor any that would require any public executions. Then, sadly, she remembered that this wasn't the Narnia she knew because nothing looked the same.

"They're Telmarines. That's what they do." The dwarf huffed.

"Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund asked.

"What are Telmarines?" Billie asked Edmund.

He answered "They are a race of humans whose country borders Narnia. But I didn't know they crossed over to us."

"Where have you been for the last hundred years?" the dwarf asked.

"It's a bit of a long story." Lucy said while the dwarf followed Susan returning Peter his sword. The dwarf seemed to have finally process who the Pevensie's were, and did not look at all pleased about it. He initially ignored Billie and Eliot because they didn't fit the picture. How ironic.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me! You're it? You're the Kings and Queens of Old?" he asked in disbelief. After all that work he and his friends put into hiding that Prince after he blew that bloody horn, being captured and tormented, all they got in return were a bunch of kids? What ruddy luck.

"High King Peter, the Magnificent." Peter said holding out his hand. Eliot rolled his eyes at his attempt at grand standing himself, and thought that his head was even bigger than Edmund's when it was in that helmet. Honestly, even if he was a king in some weird past life he was still a teenage boy who was gaining a swelling head. The dwarf looked warily at his hand still.

"Probably could have left of the last bit." Eliot muttered and the dwarf chuckled. Peter withdrew his hand and slightly glared at Eliot who shrugged it off. He had been glared at his entire life so Peter's glare was like a butterfly trying to open a safe.

"You'd be surprised." He said drawing his sword in a silent challenge. Billie and Eliot's eyes widened because they didn't realize the danger nor reality of the swords until Peter pulled it out. All they could think was _Has he gone mad? _

"Oh you don't want to do that boy." The dwarf warned. He had trained with swords his entire life, and this _kid _didn't look like much of a challenge.

"Not me. _Him._" Peter gestured to Edmund who had drawn his own sword and gave the dwarf his own who dropped it immediately. Edmund smiled confidently at Billie who smiled a bit embarrassed. She didn't blush but she saw what Edmund was doing. He was trying to impress her, and she was happy because not a lot (none actually) of guys her age tried to impress her. Edmund's eyes gave a twinkle when he saw Billie's small, sweet smile on her pink lips, but it disappeared when out of nowhere the dwarf threw the sword up like a pro, greatly surprising Edmund. The dwarf slashed the sword above Edmund's head just as he ducked down and butted him in the face when he came back up.

"Oh!" Eliot groaned putting a hand over clenched eyes while Billie covered her mouth and bent over in sympathy pains.

"Edmund!" Lucy shouted with shock and worry in her voice. She didn't want Edmund to hurt the dwarf but she certainly didn't want the dwarf to hurt Edmund either.

"You all right?" The dwarf asked in mock concern and started again. However when he did a down stroke he missed Edmund and Edmund spanked him with the flat of his sword, causing Lucy to giggle. The dwarf came back even angrier and fought harder after Edmund laid several hard hits to the dwarf's sword he knocked it out of his hands and aimed the sword at the dwarf but didn't attack further. Shocked the dwarf landed on his butt and gaped at Edmund.

"Beards and bedsteads!" the dwarf exclaimed. "Maybe that horn worked after all."

"What horn?" Susan asked.

"A Telmarine blew your horn, Your Majesty. We had hoped it would summon you but I was captured before I could be sure." The dwarf continued huffing while giving Peter back his sword and Edmund sheathing his. Edmund walked over to Billie who whispered "Nice match, Big Head."

"Besides the insult, I'll take that as a compliment." Edmund smirked.

"You should because that's all you're going to get." Billie whispered with a smirk of her own that showed pearly white teeth. Eliot watched this interaction with a raised eyebrow. Billie had already shown an interest in boys but none had returned it, at the very least none were willing to go past her figurative big brother. Even though both he and Billie were fifteen, Eliot was 6 months older than she and would become sixteen in a month. He protected Billie fiercely as she was the only person who didn't of his skin first and foremost and stuck with him even though she had plenty of opportunities at lots of friends if she just abandoned him. But she wouldn't so she became even more invaluable as a friend and sister.

"What is your name, brave dwarf?" Lucy asked and the dwarf acknowledged her more kindly. Being called 'brave' by royalty could certainly raise anyone's mood.

"My name is Trumpkin the Red Dwarf, Your Majesty." He said with a low bow. When he straightened up, he finally noticed Billie and Eliot for the first time. He stared hard at Eliot which made said boy glare back at him. Trumpkin stared because looking at Eliot's dark skin he didn't know if he was some sort of Telmarine. Eliot that Trumpkin was a bigoted pig like others were so the dwarf was not earning any favors.

"And who are you?" Trumpkin asked with suspicion heavy in his already gruff voice.

Noticing that Eliot wouldn't answer Billie said "Um, well I'm Billie and this is Eliot. It's nice to meet you Mr. Trumpkin." Her voice was meant to be pleasant but instead it ended up sounding uneasy.

Also perceiving that the tension was a bit thick, Susan stepped in. "They're friends of ours. They arrived with us."

This didn't satisfy Trumpkin and he asked them both "Where do you hail from?"

"Well, we hail from England." Billie answered while Eliot took the sword and held it in his hand.

"What's an England?" Trumpkin asked.

"It's a country; really, really far from here." Susan supplied and Lucy joined in "It's better known as Spare Oom." While this only confused Eliot and Billie whose faces scrunched up in confusion, Trumpkin became satisfied with the answer and suggested that they continue on in the boat.

Peter and Eliot started rowing while Edmund steered. Trumpkin acted as the lookout and the girls really didn't have much to do. "So what exactly is a Telmarine?" Eliot asked and this made Trumpkin confirm that he had no idea what any of this was. Either that or he was a very stupid boy.

"Telmarines are a race of humans, or rather Sons of Adam, who coincided with Narnia during our reign. We were on rather peaceful terms with them, never friends, but we mostly stayed out of each other's ways." Edmund told him whilst keeping an eye on Billie who, while listening to him, put a hand in the water and watched it ripple gently around her hand. He couldn't help but think that in the bright sunlight her hair seemed to be almost a part of it as it made everything about her glow. Susan caught sight of this and a small and surprisingly impish smile formed on her red lips. So, her little brother was finally forming an interest in girls, huh? She nudged Lucy who gave her a questioningly look until the elder Pevensie sister motioned to Edmund and Billie and Lucy gained a very smug smile. Oh, now that both Pevensie sisters were on the same page, things will really get crazy.

Trumpkin snorted catching everyone's attention. "Rather peaceful terms. _Rather peaceful terms_? Those terms didn't seem to apply when they invaded. They took over Cair Paravel, then Narnia and slaughtered many of our kind. We were forced to retreat and hide from our homes because of them. Those _peaceful terms_, weren't worth a pig's spit."

Needless to say that Trumpkin's short yet effective tirade created an even thicker silence that no one dared to rupture. Billie kept herself occupying by fiddling around with the crossbow, nearly plummeting to the water when it suddenly went off. Trumpkin shouted low oaths that will not me mentioned and told Billie to stop mucking about. Billie's face was a scarlet red for nearly taking someone's head off, but Edmund's may have been redder when he told Trumpkin not to yell at her again. The stillness of the air surrounded them once again until they reached a low crevice that the river ran through when Lucy said "They're so still." She had noticed the motionlessness of the trees and it unnerved her. She still wasn't used to the immobility of the trees in England, so seeing Narnian trees that used to move and dance and wave as one would pass by scared her to no end.

"They're trees. What do you expect?" Trumpkin huffed and Billie and Eliot had to agree with him. They had never known the dancing trees or lively forests before, because neither had even been to a forest before in England. The closest thing to that was a concrete park in their neighborhood that was only one step up from a ghetto. It wasn't nearly as bad as those in 1940's Eastern Europe but it wasn't good either.

"They used to dance." She added sadly. Eliot looked back and gave her a sympathetic smile. He remembered that the city tore down a building he and Billie used to play growing up in order to make the school that neither of them could go to anymore. It was bittersweet during the times they could go to school, remembering what used to be and what it became.

"It wasn't long after you lot left that the Telmarines invaded. Those who were able to escape retreated to the woods. And the trees…they retreated so deep within themselves that they haven't been heard from since." Trumpkin added and the Pevensie's all had a look of shame and grief on their face.

"I don't understand. How could Aslan have let this happen?" Lucy said with an almost heart breaking sad face.

"Aslan? I thought he left us when you lot did." Trumpkin muttered.

"We didn't mean to leave you know." Peter whispered but we still heard him.

"Doesn't make a lot of difference now, does it?" Trumpkin muttered.

"Take us to the Narnians, and it will." Peter answered before he rowed harder and Eliot had to work harder to keep up. The tension was revived and this time no one dared to break it. The more time they spent in this place, the more alienated Eliot and Billie felt. The Pevensies were a part of something much larger than they could imagine, and they couldn't be. They were still outsiders no matter how hard they tried to think differently.

**That thing about the butterfly I found on a fanfic whose name escapes me but I couldn't help but use it. **

**Review rule is up and running, so please do so. 1+ sentence reviews are definitely appreciated. **

**Bye! **


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